News

March 17, 2015

At its March 2 meeting, the PACE Board of Trustees recommended the reappointment of three members and heard a subcommittee report that concludes PACE staff are accomplishing goals. Recommended for reappointment were John Rexford (Superintendent, High Desert ESD), Mike Schofield (Chief Financial Officer, Gresham-Barlow SD), and Phil Wentz (Facilities Manager, Tigard-Tualatin SD). The recommendations go to the Oregon School Boards Association’s (OSBA) Board of Directors, which makes the appointments, for consideration at their June meeting.

The trustees also authorized research on a new “Gold Standard Agent” form of recognition. The Special Districts Association of Oregon (SDAO) proposed the idea as a way to reward long-standing PACE agent partners. The trustees will review ideas and options on how to recognize agents during their May meeting.

PACE Trustee Board Chairman Adam Stewart, on behalf of the PACE Trustee Evaluation Committee, reported that the board agrees the PACE staff are on track. Using a new system to evaluate PACE staff, the trustee committee compared the PACE business plan and goals to staff outcomes, which Stewart stated made the evaluation process “less nebulous.” The trustees agreed that this system is valuable to them, because it allows them to see how PACE staff are accomplishing goals.

The PACE Board of Trustees met March 2 to recommend reappointment of three members and hear the Evaluation Committee report.

OSBA Deputy Executive Director Jim Green reported to the PACE trustees on the 2015 Legislative Session and how OSBA tracks bills that relate to PACE. OSBA has legislative resources, including an online bill tracking system that stays current on PACE-related, as well as other education-related, legislation. The PACE tracking focuses on bills that would reduce liabilities, eliminate costs and pertain to facilities and student/staff safety. Current examples of these bills include tort caps, concussions, child abuse, radon and marijuana.

The trustees also welcomed new OSBA Director of Litigation Kate Wilkinson. Kate reported on the Litigation Department’s reorganization process, implementation of a new software system to track time and projects, as well as the department’s new direction. SDAO Director of Risk Management Scott Neufeld reported that he and his staff have met with all but one of the K-12 PACE member entities to train on implementation of the PACE Boundary Invasion Toolkit.

OSBA Director of Communications Tricia Yates and Marketing Consultant Rachel Fleenor reported to the trustees on the 2014 PACE Membership Survey. The report summarized the findings of the survey, which showed that PACE members appreciate the services they receive from the insurance pool and its staff. A full report can be found on the PACE website.